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(ex Low Country Boys) - Welcome to the Thompson Brothers' blog, by Mark Thompson and Graeme Thompson, founders and original lead vocalists of the Low Country Boys. These days we're doing something similar but simpler - old-time gospel music in the classic mandolin/guitar "brother duet" tradition of the early 1900s. This blog will tell you more about the great brother duets, and other aspects of evangelical rural American culture and its Scotch-Irish / Ulster-Scots cultural roots - and a wee bit about our own music too.

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Sunday, 14 September 2008

The Bailes Brothers {1945 - 1949}

[We're currently rehearsing a number of Bailes Brothers songs]

THE BAILES BROTHERS were four, not just two, brothers. Kyle, Johnnie, Walter and Homer were all born between 1915 and 1922 in Charlestown, West Virginia. Their father - Homer Abraham Bailes - was a carpenter, teacher and Baptist preacher. He died in 1925 and the boys were raised by their widowed mother, Nannie Ellen.

• First performed on local radio in 1937• First recording session February 17 1945 (10 tracks, including their famous Dust on the Bible)• Became "Grand Ole Opry" stars, along with Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe• Other famous tracks include Whiskey is the Devil in Liquid Form and We're Living in the Last Days Now• Published a songbook which sold 175,000 copies• Final recording session was in 1947, and included Come to the Saviour• After the original band broke up in 1949, various combinations of the brothers recorded albums right up to 1977 when they reunited

Many Ulster gospel singers during the 20th Century recorded the Bailes Brothers' song Read Romans Ten and Nine - without ever telling the Ulster population where they had got the song from. This is one of the great cultural tragedies of the gospel music world in Northern Ireland - we have a wonderful musical heritage, but no-one told the next generation about the origins of the songs.

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BUY:• The best Bailes Brothers CD is Oh So Many Years, Bear Family Records, 2002. It contains all 28 of their Columbia Records recordings - buy it on Amazon.co.uk

• Remember Me: Bill Malone and Rod Moag play the music of the Bailes Brothers - click here to buy

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REFERENCES:• "...the lyrical content of their songs, especially their sacred material, was some of the best of the period, and the full-volume, open-throated singing, coupled with their sincere personalities, delivered something very special that's still revered by those who remember them. Their musical style bridged the gap between the old-time brother duets, the mainstream country music of the day, and whta would eventually become known as bluegrass..." (from the booklet for Oh So Many Years.)

• "...The Bailes Brothers, usually performing in combinations of two, were one of the most popular harmony duets during the middle and late 1940’s. Their deeply emotional, sincere singing style and original song lyrics contributed to their lasting popularity..." from the Birthplace of Country Music website